The World Bank Valorization of Investments in the Valley of the Logone (P168772) Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Project Information Document/ Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (PID/ISDS) Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 24-Jan-2019 | Report No: PIDISDSC25547 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Jan 24, 2019 Page 1 of 20 The World Bank Valorization of Investments in the Valley of the Logone (P168772) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data OPS TABLE Country Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Project Name Cameroon P168772 Valorization of Investments in the Valley of the Logone (P168772) Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) AFRICA Sep 23, 2019 Dec 18, 2019 Water Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Ministry of Economy, SEMRY (Société d'Expansion Planning and Regional et Modernisation de Development (MINEPAT) Riziculture de Yagoua) Proposed Development Objective(s) The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve irrigation services, rice production and commercialization in targeted irrigation schemes of the Logone valley. PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY-NewFin1 Total Project Cost 200.00 Total Financing 200.00 of which IBRD/IDA 200.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS-NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing International Development Association (IDA) 200.00 IDA Credit 200.00 Environmental Assessment Category Concept Review Decision Jan 24, 2019 Page 2 of 20 The World Bank Valorization of Investments in the Valley of the Logone (P168772) B - Partial Assessment Track II-The review did authorize the preparation to continue Other Decision (as needed) B. Introduction and Context Regional Context 1. The Lake Chad area has a great potential for development but is challenged by multiple and interrelated drivers of conflict as well as social and environmental fragility. As one of the results, the areas surrounding the Lake Chad represent the poorest, most marginalized and neglected part of each respective country and have been left susceptible to crime and violence and promises from radical Islamists. In Cameroon, for example, poverty is increasingly concentrated in the northern parts of the country – the Far North and the North present a poverty rate of 74.3% and 67.9% respectively, and the literacy rate is almost half in the North (43%) compared to the rest of the country (72% nationally). Similary in Nigeria, average poverty rate is 46% (2015) while in the states around Lake Chad such as Jigawa (88%), Borno (70%) and Yobe (90%) is much higher. 2. The underlying causes of the high levels of poverty, perceived social injustice, include a lack of social service provision, historic marginalization, inadequate economic opportunities, rapid demographic growth and the impacts of climate change and land degradation. The conflict can be traced back to a range of fragility drivers and historical underinvestment in remote areas. Fragility drivers include i) lack of public services; ii) the pressure on the already fragile ecosystem which is significantly increasing due to a high population growth1, iii) poor natural resource management, and climate and disaster risks in the Region; iv) weak governance and weak presence of state institutions; v) weak agriculture performance, and vi) missing international road corridor and energy transmission linkages. 3. Lake Chad is a large transboundary lake shared between Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria and a total of 49 million people live from the exploitation of its rich natural resources (fishing, livestock farming, flood-recession agriculture, hunting and gathering). A net exporter of food and a provider of seasonal jobs, it also contributed to the food and job security of people in its hinterlands, including two regional metropolises, Ndjamena and Maidiguri, as well as the impoverished regions of the lake’s Sahelian hinterlands (Borno in Nigeria; Diffa in Niger, the Far North Province in Cameroon and the regions of the Lake in Chad). If the lake area represents such a food production hub, it is because it offers, all year long, a relative secure source of water, fodder and fertile land. Moreover, those mostly family fishing and farming systems are labor intensive and generate significant indirect employment (processing, trade, crafts, and transport). 1 The population of the four countries around the Lake Chad (Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria; entire territory of the countries, not vicinities of the Lake Chad) has more than quadrupled in the last 50 years – from 60 million in 1960 to more than 243 million inhabitants in 2017. See UNFPA: From crisis to development around Lake Chad, Strategy for an Integrated, Holistic and Sustainable Response, 2018. Jan 24, 2019 Page 3 of 20 The World Bank Valorization of Investments in the Valley of the Logone (P168772) 4. The hydrologically active basin is less than half that area, established at 0.97 million km2, with 20 million people. About 20% of the total area of the Basin or 430,000 km2 is called the Conventional Basin with 42% of this area in Chad, 28% in Niger, 21% in Nigeria, and 9% in Cameroon. The majority of the Basin countries are among the poorest in the world based on the HDI rankings. Lake Chad is Africa’s fourth largest lake and the largest in Western and Central Africa. 5. The Charri-Logone river is the backbone of the Lake Chad Conventional Basin with multiple implications upstream and downstream. The Chari-Logone River contributes about 95 percent2 (38.5 km3) of the total inflow (40.5 km3) into Lake Chad. In recent history, the area of Lake Chad has varied between 3,000 and 25,000 km2, with a variation in its level of over 8 meters and a variation in volume of between 20 and 100 km3. The present water withdrawal in the Logone-Chari of 0.5 km3 (corresponding to 0.2 km3 in Cameroon and 0.3 km3 in Chad) represents 1.3 percent of the average annual water resource (38.5 km3); therefore, most of the variation in the Lake Chad basin are related to the inter-annual variation in precipitation in these two countries. Furthermore, with an average depth of only three meters, the average intra-annual variation of 1 meter translates into huge variations in surface area between summer and winter months (e.g. some 6,000 km² for 278m above sea level vs. almost 12,000 km² for 279m). 6. The Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) was created since 1970s but is a weak institution. The mandate of the LCBC is to sustainably and equitably manage the shared water resources of the Lake Chad Basin, to preserve the ecosystems of the Conventional Basin, and to promote regional integration, peace and security across the Basin. A Water Charter was developed in 2010 and approved in 2012 by the Presidents of each riparian member country. Although the document has yet to be ratified by all parties, this marks a significant step in bringing countries closer to sharing information, joint planning and enforcing rights and regulations over the use of natural resources. All these challenges call for additional efforts, at the policy and investment levels, but also at the national and regional levels to carry through the requested interventions. A Five Year Investment Plan (FYIP) for the Lake Chad was developed in 2012 comprising regional and national components for each of the riparian countries. Because of the lack of commitment and buy-in from the countries towards the national plans, the regional approach for policy dialogue and support should be coupled with specific national engagements. Country Context 7. A lower middle-income country of about 24 million people, Cameroon is strategically located on the Gulf of Guinea. With a per capita Gross Domestic Product of US$1,374 (current prices) in 2017, the economy is largely driven by its primary sector, agriculture and mineral resources, and benefits from its location in the Congo Basin, the world’s second largest tropical forest zone, which provides exceptional ecological diversity. Despite having one of the most diversified economies in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa region, Cameroon’s economic activity slowed in 2016. Growth 2 FAO, AQUASTAT … Jan 24, 2019 Page 4 of 20 The World Bank Valorization of Investments in the Valley of the Logone (P168772) dipped to 3.7 percent at the end of 2017, compared to 4.4 percent in 2016, resulting from the maturity of the main oil fields and to the avian flu epidemic that has damaged the local poultry industry, particularly in the West, which accounts for 80 percent of production. However, continued implementation of the Government’s ambitious infrastructure plan and interventions to boost the agriculture and forestry sectors have significantly contributed to sustained strong growth in public works, construction, and services. 8. The Government of Cameroon’s (GoC) long-term vision, Cameroon Vision 2035, is of an emerging, democratic and united country in diversity. To operationalize this Vision, the Government adopted a Growth and Employment Strategy (DSCE – Document de Stratégie pour la Croissance et l’Emploi) in 2009 and defined specific objectives to be achieved by 2020, such as reducing poverty rate to less than 29 percent and by 10 percent in 2035. The GoC has further adopted the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also endorsed the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and published Cameroon’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) setting out its contribution to climate change mitigation and priorities for adaptation. 9. The DSCE identifies inadequate infrastructure and an unfavorable business environment as the main factors impeding economic growth and employment creation. The agriculture sector, which currently employs about 70 percent of the active population in Cameroon (primarily in the informal sector), is regarded as the potential engine for economic growth and job creation if it can be transformed from traditional farming to diversified and commercially viable farming.